The invention relates to processing tools utilized for semiconductor wafer processing and more particularly to wafer processing tools that are configured for 300-mm wafer processing in which the wafers are supplied in FOUP cassettes.
When processing semiconductor wafers in processing tools, the processing tool is adapted to and optimized for the size of the wafer to be processed. The size of the wafers are standardized in a limited number of discrete sizes where there has been a tendency towards increasing size in the past decades in order to increase the production efficiency. The three most recently introduced wafer sizes are 150 mm, 200-mm and 300-mm diameter.
A given wafer fabrication facility will normally be configured for handling one wafer size. However, in RandD, pilot production or implementation of a new technology in production, there is a need for tools that can process multiple wafer sizes alternatingly or that can easily be reconfigured for handling different wafer sizes. In the past, when using open cassettes that hold the wafers, this was not a major issue. A wafer handling device can easily be configured so that it can handle wafers of different sizes from/to their respective open cassettes. However, the use of the closed FOUP cassettes for 300-mm wafers requires specific features in the wafer handling and cassette handling system that do not allow handling 200-mm open cassettes alternatingly in the same system.
Accordingly, a need exists for a system capable of handling multiple sizes of substrates in a state-of-the-art facility.
According to the invention a system, layed out for handling 300-mm wafers, supplied in 300-mm FOUP cassettes, is provided with a tool set to accommodate 200-mm cassettes during wafer transfer and cassette transfer. This tool set comprises a xe2x80x9cTranshipment FOUPxe2x80x9d cassette designed to receive a 200-mm open cassette in its interior. The term xe2x80x9cTranshipment FOUPxe2x80x9d is used herein as a label to distinguish 200-mm open cassettes and standard 300-mm FOUP cassettes. When 200-mm wafers need to be handled, the cassette handler places the 200-mm cassette in the Transhipment FOUP and, subsequently, the Transhipment FOUP, containing the 200-mm cassette, is brought into active connection with a wafer handling device. According to a further aspect of the invention, this tool set comprises a cassette handler adapter that allows the 300-mm FOUP cassette handler to handle 200-mm cassettes. The system is programmed such that the tools are automatically picked up from their storage position when needed.